Doc Crow's Southern Smokehouse and Raw Bar — Restaurant in Louisville

It's a bad sign when you walk into a place and the hostesses aren't even interested in seating you, they're just kind of standing around waiting to see which one feels like seating people right now. We should have turned away right then.

Not even lying, this was the worst dining experience I've had. Ever. We ordered an appetizer but had no plates and no silverware. We had to ask for silverware THREE times before they finally gave us some.

Then, the food was just terrible. I bit into pulled pork and it hurt my tooth. I thought it was a fluke so I set that piece aside and took another bite, again, it was hard as a rock. I opened the rest of my sandwich and 90% of the "meat" was just cartilage. Completely inedible. The sweet potato fries were definitely frozen, you can get better quality from the grocery store. They were still the best thing I ate from Doc Crows.

Another friend ordered gumbo and rice and there was a literal piece of trash (looked like part of a bread tie) inside of the gumbo. Another friend said the chili tasted like canned chili and even the salad was underwhelming.

We were at this restaurant for over 2 hours and watched countless servers and bussers walk right past dirty tables that were dirty before we even got there. Server offered water refills after we were done eating and waiting for checks, which took another 15 to 20 minutes to cash out, at which point we were offered free dessert for our horrid experience. We told the server we would take them if they were "to go" as we had already spent so much time there.

Another 20 minutes pass, and someone brings our dessert on dine in plates. Literally a joke at this point since we were pushing 2.5 hours here! The server brought us boxes and then said "okay bye".

I have no clue how this place is getting 5 star reviews. Avoid...

D O C C R O W ‘ S

Visited first night in Louisville on whiskey row. This was a spot I wouldn’t necessarily recommend or will visit next time. It wasn’t very well maintained, dirty from walls to floor, and the decor needed to be updated in a way that maintained the tradition of the restaurant. The table wasn’t set for 4 and so we had to ask a couple times for the right number of place settings.

😒 The staff and customer service was ok. Our server made some great recommendations but there weren’t enough whiskey menus, so servers had to ask other tables to borrow menus which was weird. Our server acknowledged the birthday with a free dessert, but they were very busy and she forgot many of our other requests.

🍗 The food was ok. The group I was with raves about the oysters, but the brisket nachos were cold and fatty. I smoke a mean brisket at home, so I was disappointed in the quality. The main courses were the country fried pork chop , ribs and fried chicken sandwich. No issues with the main courses.

🥃 The signature old fashioned was a hit. Everyone enjoyed a couple. The whiskey selection was extensive and while exciting to see some unique pours, 90% unfortunately were way over priced or “secondary and beyond” pricing. While the Lucky 7 barrel pick was very good, a bottle to purchase was ridiculously over priced and left me again disappointed I could bring home a nice souvenir of the trip. We had better luck across the street.

Overall, an experience I don’t need again for future trips. I will have other places from the bourbon trail experience that are worth dining at every time.

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I have no idea how Doc Crow is still open. I know the ownership has changed a year ago or so. I think the business has dwindled and it’s super easy to get into now where it used to be packed. I am basing this review off of two separate visits. I would not have returned after trip 1 except for the location on Main Street and what was open on a Sunday. Both visits were for lunch. The first time we were a group of 8. Pretty much everyone ordered a variety of the barbecue items from the brisket to the pulled pork. All of it tasted like it came from a prepared food company. Not original, fresh, tender but more salty and with preservatives. Fries are fries. Nothing amazing and the beans, again, nothing special. The second visit three of us ordered spinach salads, and soup and sandwich. Their salads were barely eaten so I’ll guess it wasn’t very good. I ordered the half sandwich and soup. The grilled cheese was terrible. No buttered bread toasted to perfection. I make a better grilled cheese than this white bread with cheese served slightly warm. The tomato bisque soup was served in a ramekin (supposedly a cup) and it tasted like it came from a prepared bag from Sysco. Yuck yuck and yuck. I forgot to mention they had us wait for 15 minutes while 90% of the restaurant was empty. Four employees at the hostess stand doing nothing but we needed to wait??? I can only imagine the labor costs. If this stays in business, I’d be pretty surprised with that high rent on Main Street. Lastly, I find it strange when we are mid lunch and our drinks are empty and the server asks if we want more tea, water or a soft drink. Empty is empty. Unless you’re completely done and the check is paid, fill it up. Not rocket science. It’s a cool location but the...